Wang starts today; agent optimistic about deal with Nats - 棒球

上面那篇blog有此新聞的連結，所以就PO過來了

Wang starts today; agent optimistic about deal with Nats
By Ben Goessling, October 6, 2010 11:15 AM | 8 Comments

Nearly eight months after they signed him to a one-year, $2 million contract,
the Nationals will finally see right-hander Chien-Ming Wang pitching in a
game today. The pitcher, who missed the entire 2010 season while rehabbing
after shoulder surgery, will only throw an inning today, but the simple act
of facing hitters in a game again is a major step forward.

Wang had shoulder surgery in July 2009, and the Nationals signed him hoping
they'd have him back sometime in 2010. But as the season wore on, the
complexities of Wang's rehab became more apparent and the likelihood of
getting him on the mound for the Nationals grew more remote. General manager
Mike Rizzo said several times this year there was no baseball precedent for
the kind of shoulder surgery Wang had - the closest parallel was New Orleans
Saints quarterback Drew Brees, he said - and the Taiwanese pitcher's tedious
rehab went from bullpen sessions, live batting practice and playing catch,
seemingly interminably.

"t's a long process, every day, doing the same thing, not sure about what the
next month's going to bring," said Alan Chang, who works with agent Alan Nero
and serves as Wang's interpreter. "Everybody's affected through the rehab.
But he has a perseverance about him. Now, he's beginning to understand and
getting used to his new shoulder. ... He's starting to get that feeling
again. You're starting to see his smile."

Wang spent the entire season in Viera, Fla., away from the Nationals and
spending the entire summer in the hot Florida sun. His solace through the
entire process has been family; he's been able to spend the entire year with
his wife, Chia-Ling Wu and watch his son Justin (who turned one in June)
learn how to walk.

"This is a blessing in disguise, too," Chang said. "If he was playing, he
would miss out on the kid's first year. He goes to do rehab every day in one
location, but he gets the opportunity to be with his family."

Wang's first step today is a tentative one; the Nationals want to see how he
progresses this fall before determining what to do with him next season. He
is arbitration-eligible after the season, and if the team offered him
arbitration, Wang would make no less than $1.6 million next season.

But general manager Mike Rizzo has said he is optimistic about reaching a
deal with Wang before the arbitration process - which would offer the
Nationals some cost savings after rehabbing Wang all year - and Nero said
both sides are confident "we'll be able to come to some sort of agreement,"
though he also stressed it's all contingent on Wang's progress.

"I think we were all more optimistic that he would have been further along,"
Nero said by cell phone from Tokyo. "In the meantime, he's not had any major
setbacks. He's been making steady progress, everybody around him is
optimistic. We're excited about what comes next."


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